Passenger conveyor landing

ABSTRACT

A lower landing for an inclined treadway type passenger conveyor in which the landing plate has an upper edge portion with a surface inclined at the same slope as the threadway for receiving passengers and objects from the treadway and a curved portion having a continuous surface for transferring passengers and objects from the inclined position to the horizontal position with a resultant motion for keeping the passengers&#39;&#39; balance, the width of the upper edge portion and the curved portion being such that a passenger with a normal stride can step over them on entering or leaving the conveyor.

United States Patent Johnson [451 Oct. 17,1972

[73] Assignee: The Goodyear Tire 8: Rubber Company, Akron, Ohio 221 Filed: Nov. 4, 1970 211 App]. N0.: 86,749

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,052,337 9/1962 Force ..l98/l6 R FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Germany ..198/l6 R Primary ExaminerEvon C. Blunk Assistant Examiner--Douglas D. Watts Att0rneyF. W. Brunner, Frederick K. Lacher and Oberlin, Maky, Donnelly & Renner [57] ABSTRACT A lower landing for an inclined treadway type passenger conveyor in which the landing plate has an upper edge portion with a surface inclined at the same slope as the threadway for receiving passengers and objects from the treadway and a curved portion having a continuous surface for transferring passengers and objects from the inclined position to the horizontal position with a resultant motion for keeping the passengers balance, the width of the upper edge portion and the curved portion being such that a passenger with a normal stride can step over them on entering or leaving the conveyor.

4 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures PATENTEU B 7 1973 3. 698.535

INVENTOR. ERNEST 0. JOHNSON ATTORNEYS PASSENGER CONVEYOR LANDING This invention relates generally as indicated to the lower landing of a belt or pallet treadway type inclined passenger conveyor which will avoid the design problems and added expense of a concave belt configuration at the lower end of the inclined conveyor and also provide the passengers with a better transition than they receive where the lower landing is inclined at the same angle as the belt.

Inclined treadway type passenger conveyor systems and especially belt type systems are most effective and desirable for many reasons; however, the transition from the inclined position on the treadway to the horizontal position at the lower end of the treadway has required special design treatment. This is primarily due to the change in attitude of the passengers which causes some passengers to lose their balance when they go from the inclined surface to the horizontal surface. One solution was to have a lower landing plate which was inclined at the same angle as the treadway so that passengers would step off the treadway and walk down the inclined landing plate.'Although this construction does not require a transition from the inclined position to the horizontal position, it has the disadvantage of causing the passengers to exit on an incline which places greater stress on the body than when on a horizontal surface. Other designs provide a belt with a concave section and a horizontal section at the lower end. This conveyor system is very satisfactory; however, it is more costly because of the added mechanisms and requires more space. Also some passengers have a feeling of instability as they pass through the concave section from the inclined to the horizontal sections as they stand on the belt.

Another problem has been to provide a threshold comb which will operate effectively with a belt and landing plate. With the belt type treadway constructions described above, the threshold combs have been in the same plane as the belts to provide the maximum safety and efficiency. The problem has been how to obtain this same safety and efficiency while at the same time provide a landing plate which will carry the passengers and objects on the belt from the inclined position to a horizontal position without affecting their balance.

With the foregoing in mind, it is the principal object of this invention to provide a landing plate construction for an inclined conveyor which provides a smooth transition from the inclined conveyor to a horizontal support with the maximum passenger comfort.

Another object is to provide an inclined comb with teeth at the same inclination as a conveyor belt so that the feet of the passengers and other objects on the conveyor will slide on and off the belt in the direction of travel with little or no resistance. I

A further object of the invention is to provide a concave curved landing plate having a continuous surface on which a foot or other object sliding on or off the moving belt will move to the horizontal position.

These and other objects of the present invention may be achieved by providing a landing. plate structure which has an upper edge portion with a comb structure in the same plane as the belt for receiving passengers and objects from the belt and a curved section to which the upper edge portion and the belt are tangential. A

horizontal section is also tangential to the curved section and receives passengers and objects from the curved section. The width of the curved section and upper edge portion of the landing plate are such that a passenger with a normal stride can step over them to enter or leave the conveyor.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the invention, then, comprises the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims, the following description and the annexed drawings setting forth in detail a certain illustrative embodiment of the invention, this being indicative, however, of but one of the various ways in which the principles of the invention may be employed.

In the annexed drawings:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic side elevational view of a preferred form of landing plate constructed in accordance with this invention at a lower end of an inclined conveyor, parts being broken away to show the position of the comb teeth within a groove in the moving belt and illustrating the action of the comb on a passengers shoe;

FIG. 2 is a view like FIG. 1 illustrating the way in which passengers can step over the comb and curved portion of the landing plate upon leaving the conveyor.

A landing plate structure 1 is shown in FIG. I located at the lower end of an inclined belt type passenger conveyor. An inclined belt 2 passes over a terminal pulley 3 at the lower end which rotates in a counterclockwise direction as shown by the arrow in the drawing. The belt 2 may be of reinforced rubber or other rubberlike material and has a load carrying surface 4 with spacedapart ribs 5 and grooves 6 extending longitudinally of the belt.

The landing plate structure 1 has a hinged supporting member 7 mounted for rotation in the counterclockwise direction about a pin 8 extending through overlapping lugs 9 of the supporting member and lugs 10 of a stationary structure 11. Pads 15 on the supporting member 7 and pads 16 on the stationary structure 11 are in engagement during normal operation of the conveyor.

A threshold comb assembly 17 is mounted on an upper edge portion 18 of a landing plate 19 fastened to the supporting member 7 by screws or other suitable means and extending towards the belt 2 at the terminal pulley 3. The threshold comb assembly 17 has a comb with teeth 23 of the type shown and described in applicants patent application Ser. No. 20,930 on Threshold Comb for Passenger Conveyor filed Mar. 19, 1970 and assigned to the Assignee of the present invention. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the threshold comb assembly 17 is located within the space below the plane of the inclined load carrying surface 4 of the belt 2 and above the surface of the belt after it is turned inwardly around the lower terminal pulley 3. Teeth 23 have lower surfaces 24 within the grooves 6 and upper load carrying surfaces 25 in alignment with the load carrying surface 4 of the belt 2. The upper edge portion 18 of the landing plate 19 has a surface 26 which is also in alignment with the upper load carrying surface 25 of the teeth 23 and the load carrying surface 4 of the inclined belt so that passengers and objects carried by the belt 2 into engagement with the teeth will slide onto the teeth 23 and upper edge portion 18 of the landing plate 19. The landing plate 19 has a load supporting surface 27 with a horizontal lower portion 28 which is in alignment with a horizontal extension portion 29 extending to the left, as shown in FIG. 1, to a stationary platform, not shown.

An intermediate curved portion 33 of the landing plate load carrying surface 27 extends between the horizontal lower portion 28 and the upper edge portion 26 of surface 27 providing a smooth transition between the inclined position on the belt 2 and the horizontal position. The radius of curvature R of the intermediate curved portion 33 is preferably of a dimension which will provide a smooth transition between the inclined and horizontal positions but at the same time restricts the width W of the intermediate curved portion 33 so that a passenger can step over the upper edge portion 26 and curved portion 33 by taking a normal stride S as shown in FIG. 2. In the embodiment shown the radius of curvature R is l3 inches and the width W is approximately 3 inches.

For a smooth transition, the surface 26 of the upper edge portion 18 is tangential to the curved portion surface 33 and the horizontal lower portion surface 27 is also tangential to the surface of the curved portion.

To facilitate sliding of passengers feet and objects from the belt 2 to the landing plate 19, the upper load carrying surface 25 of the teeth 23 has a coefficient of friction which is less than the coefficient of friction of the belt load carrying surface 4. On the other hand the load supporting surface 27 of the landing plate 19 is patterned or has a textured surface of material such as aluminum carbide particles held in an epoxy resin applied to the surface similar to the treatment of the surface of the horizontal extension portion 29. This friction load supporting surface of the landing plate preferably has a coefficient of friction at least as great as the coefficient of friction of the load carrying surface 4 of belt 2 so that passengers stepping on this surface will have a sufficient footing to take another step without slipping.

in FIG. 1 a passengers shoe 34 indicating the position of the passenger on the belt load supporting surface 4 is shown and it can be seen how the threshold comb assembly 17 and teeth 23 lift the shoe onto the landing plate sliding it onto the surface 26 of the upper edge portion 18 and towards the intermediate curved portion 33 where the shoe will be transferred from the inclined position to a horizontal position on the horizontal lower portion 28 and horizontal extension portion 29 of the load supporting surface 27 of the landing plate structure 1. It has been found that the resulting motion has a minimum of unbalancing affect upon the passengers as the friction load supporting surface 27 deters sliding movement of the passengers shoe 34 causing the center of gravity of the passenger to move forward or to the left as viewed in FIG. 1, to the desired position when the passenger is standing or walking on the horizontal lower portion 28 and horizontal extension portion of the load supporting surface 27 of landing plate 19. It is also economical in construction and maintenance.

As shown in FIG. 2, another passenger is shown in a position in which he has taken a normal stride S with one foot and shoe 36 from the belt 2 where another foot and shoe 35 still rests on the load carrying surface 4 of the belt 2. This shows the relationship between the total width W of the intermediate curved portion 33 and the surface 26 of the upper edge portion 18 which total less than the normal stride S of the passenger. With this construction the passenger can step over the landing plate 19 from the belt 2 to the horizontal lower portion 28 of the landing plate and horizontal extension portion 29 without contacting the inclined upper edge portion 18 and intermediate curved portion 33 of the load supporting surface 27 of the landing plate. This is also important when the conveyor system is reversible and the inclined belt 2 is moving upward with the terminal pulley 3 moving in a clockwise direction. Then the passengers may step from the horizontal extension portion 29 over the surface 33 of the landing plate curved portion and the surface 26 of the upper edge portion 18 onto the load supporting surface 4 of the belt.

From the foregoing it will now be apparent that the landing plate structure of the present invention is of a relatively low cost and simple construction which nevertheless provides a smooth transition for passengers and objects between the inclined position on the belt and the horizontal position on the landing plate structure. Moreover, the threshold comb is disposed with the teeth at the optimum position to receive and lift objects off of the moving belt and slide them onto the landing plate without a radical change in the attitude of the passengers, but a change which is more natural and less likely to interfere with the balance of the passengers. The construction is also applicable to reversible conveyors and requires a minimum of space.

While a certain representative belt treadway embodiment and details have been shown for the purpose of illustrating the invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein such as using a pallet type treadway without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

I, therefore, particularly point out and claim as my invention:

1. An inclined belt type passenger conveyor having an endless belt extending at an angle to the horizontal, a terminal pulley for supporting said belt at the lower end of said conveyor, said belt being movable down the conveyor in a load carrying section to a pulley engaging section where said belt bends inwardly around said terminal pulley, said belt having a load carrying upper surface, a landing plate structure located at said pulley engaging section and having a supporting surface with an upper edge portion located within the space below the plane of said load carrying surface of said belt in said load carrying section and above the belt at a position after the belt is bent inwardly around said terminal pulley and said supporting surface being inclined at the same said angle as said belt to facilitate a smooth transition of passengers between the surfaces of the belt and the landing plate structure, said landing plate structure having a horizontal lower portion and an intermediate curved portion between said upper edge portion and said horizontal lower portion to provide a smooth transition of passengers and objects between said belt load supporting upper surface and said horizontal lower portion of the landing plate structure.

2. The passenger conveyor of claim 1 wherein said belt load carrying upper surface has spaced-apart longitudinal ribs and grooves, a threshold comb is mounted on said landing plate structure at said upper edge portion and said comb has a plurality of comb teeth extending into the longitudinal grooves in said load carrying upper surface of the belt at a position after the belt bends inwardly over said terminal pulley for bridging the gap between the load carrying surface of the belt and said upper edge portion of the landing plate structure to assist passengers and objects in making a smooth transition between the surfaces of the belt and landing plate structure.

3. The conveyor of claim 2, wherein said upper load carrying surfaces of said teeth have a lower coefficient of friction than said belt load carrying upper surface whereby the shoes of passengers and objects carried downward on said belt load carrying upper surface into 4 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTWICATE OF CGRRECTION Patent 2 698,535 r Dated October 17, 1972 lnven orgj Ernest D. Johnson It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column, 2, line 51 after "applicant's" insert patent application Serial No. 83,964 filed- October 26,1970, a continuation-in-part of Signed and sealed this 3rd day ofjJuly 19-73.

SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETCHER,JR. Rene Tegtmeyer Attesting Officer Acting Commissioner of Patents FORM PO-IOSO (10-69) USCOMM DC 60376 P69 a u.s, covzmmsm PRINTING orrxc: 1569 o-ass-aau 

1. An inclined belt type passenger conveyor having an endless belt extending at an angle to the horizontal, a terminal pulley for supporting said belt at the lower end of said conveyor, said belt being movable down the conveyor in a load carrying section to a pulley engaging section where said belt bends inwardly around said terminal pulley, said belt having a load carrying upper surface, a landing plate structure located at said pulley engaging section and having a supporting surface with an upper edge portion located within the space below the plane of said load carrying surface of said belt in said load carrying section and above the belt at a position after the belt is bent inwardly around said terminal pulley and said supporting surface being inclined at the same said angle as said belt to facilitate a smooth transition of passengers between the surfaces of the belt and the landing plate structure, said landing plate structure having a horizontal lower portion and an intermediate curved portion between said upper edge portion and said horizontal lower portion to provide a smooth transition of passengers and objects between said belt load supporting upper surface and said horizontal lower portion of the landing plate structure.
 2. The passenger conveyor of claim 1 wherein said belt load carrying upper surface has spaced-apart longitudinal ribs and grooves, a threshold comb is mounted on said landing plate structure at said upper edge portion and said comb has a plurality of comb teeth extending into the longitudinal grooves in said load carrying upper surface of the belt at a position after the belt bends inwardly over said terminal pulley for bridging the gap between the load carrying surface of the belt and said upper edge portion of the landing plate structure to assist passengers and objects in making a smooth transition between the surfaces of the belt and landing plate structure.
 3. The conveyor of claim 2, wherein said upper load carrying surfaces of said teeth have a lower coefficient of friction than said belt load carrying upper surface whereby the shoes of passengers and objects carried downward on said belt load carrying upper surface into engagement with said comb teeth will slide off the belt over said teeth onto said landing plate structure.
 4. The conveyor of claim 3 wherein said supporting surface of the landing plate has a coefficient of friction at least as great as the coefficient of friction of the load carrying upper surface of the belt whereby the weight of the passengers is urged ahead of their feet to maintain the passengers'' balance. 